Russian Pioneers Who Changed the World – Part 2

1885 – the first submarine with an electric motor:

In 1885, the Russian engineer and inventor Stepan Dzhevetsky was the first in the world to build a submarine with an electric motor. Prior to that, submarines had a muscular (pedal) drive, and the electric motor submarine of Stepan Dzhevetsky eliminated dependence on the physical strength of the crew and laid the foundations for the further development of the submarine fleet.

1886 – the first aerial camera:

In 1886, the Russian scientist Vyacheslav Sreznevsky was the first in the world to create an aerial camera and a waterproof camera for marine photography. In addition, he developed special photographic plates for aerial photography, which improved the quality of images from high altitude.

1888 – the first three-phase alternating current generator:

In 1888, the Russian electrical engineer Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky was the first in the world to invent a three-phase alternating current system. He also built the world's first three-phase alternating current generator with a rotating magnetic field, and created the world's first three-phase asynchronous motor. The three-phase system has made it possible: to efficiently transfer electricity over long distances; to create simple, reliable, and powerful electric motors for industry; to lay the foundation for modern power systems.

1892 – the first design of an airship with a thin metal shell:

In 1892, the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published his work "The Controlled Metal Aerostat" where for the first time in the world he scientifically substantiated the design of an airship with a metal shell.

1893 – the first movie camera:

In 1893, the Russian mechanic-inventor Joseph Tymchenko was the first in the world to develop a motion picture camera.

1894 – the first design of an all-metal airplane:

In 1894, the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was the first in the world to give a detailed description, calculations, and drawings of an all-metal monoplane (an aircraft with one wing) – in his article "An Aerostat, or Bird-Like (Aviation) Flying Machine".

1895 – the first radio receiver:

On May 7, 1895, the Russian professor Alexander Popov demonstrated the world's first radio receiver at a meeting of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1896 – the first radio broadcast:

On March 24, 1896, the Russian professor Alexander Popov conducted the world's first radio broadcast, sending the message "Heinrich Hertz" at a distance of 250 meters.

1896 – the first tracked tractor:

In 1896, the Russian inventor Fyodor Blinov was the first in the world to present a tracked steam self-propelled vehicle (the inventor called it a "steam locomotive for dirt roads") at the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The machine had two separate steam engines, each one drove its own caterpillar, which made it possible to turn using the different speed of the tracks.

1896 – the first hyperboloid structure in construction:

In 1896, the Russian inventor and engineer Vladimir Shukhov was the first in the world to present hyperboloid structures and metal grid shells for construction created by him. Both solutions provide high strength and minimal metal consumption, are easy to manufacture and install, resist wind loads well, and are suitable for the construction of towers, floors, supports, and other structures. The ideas of Vladimir Shukhov had a huge impact on architecture and construction around the world.

1896 – the first photogalvanography:

In 1896, the Russian physicist and inventor Nikolay Pilchikov was the first in the world to apply the method of photogalvanography and formulated its principles. Photogalvanography allowed to obtain relief images on metal plates based on a combination of photoelectric effect and electrolysis. Photogalvanography was also called "electronic photography".

1897 – the first formula of jet propulsion:

In 1897, the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, in his manuscript "A Rocket", was the first in the world to derive a basic equation that allows calculating the speed which a rocket will acquire due to jet thrust in the absence of external forces. This formula became fundamental for all rocket dynamics and was called the "Tsiolkovsky formula".

1898 – the first secure wireless control system:

In 1898, the Russian physicist and inventor Nikolay Pilchikov was the first in the world to create and publicly demonstrate a wireless control system using radio waves that was protected from interference or unauthorized access.

1903 – the doctrine of conditioned and unconditioned reflexes:

In 1903, the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov was the first in the world to outline the principles of the physiology of higher nervous activity, conditioned and unconditioned reflexes. In 1904, Ivan Pavlov received the Nobel Prize for his research in the physiology of digestion.

1907 – the first patent for the transmission of images over a distance:

On July 25, 1907, the Russian physicist and inventor Boris Rosing was the first in the world to apply for a patent on "A method of electrical transmission of images over a distance." Boris Rosing's receiver became a direct precursor to television kinescopes which came into widespread use in the twentieth century.

1911 – the first satchel parachute:

In 1911, the Russian inventor Gleb Kotelnikov was the first in the world to invent a satchel rescue parachute, which became a reliable means of rescue for aviators all over the world.

1911 – the first television broadcast:

On May 22, 1911, the Russian physicist and inventor Boris Rosing conducted the world's first television broadcast in the laboratory of the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology (Russiа) in the presence of colleagues: he transmitted an image of the well-known grid of four white stripes on a black background.

1913 – the first multi-engine aircraft:

In 1913, the Russian aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky was the first in the world to design the four-engined "Russian Knight" aircraft, which marked the beginning of the era of heavy aviation.

1913 – the first automatic rifle:

In 1913, the Russian designer Vladimir Fedorov was the first in the world to create an automatic rifle.

1915 – the first charcoal gas mask:

In 1915, the Russian professor Nikolay Zelinsky and the Russian technological engineer Mikhail Kummant were the first in the world to develop a carbon gas mask capable of absorbing a wide range of toxic substances.

1916 – the first assault rifle:

In 1916, the Russian designer Vladimir Fedorov was the first in the world to create an assault rifle that was adopted by the troops (at the end of 1916, a batch of the assault rifles was transferred to a company of the 189th Izmail Infantry Regiment of the Russian army). The future famous Soviet small arms designer Vasily Degtyaryov also took part in the development of the Fedorov assault rifle.

1919 – the first high-voltage rectifier:

In 1919, the Russian scientist Valentin Vologdin was the first in the world to create a high-voltage mercury rectifier with a liquid cathode (ignitron). Radiocommunication was actively developing at the time, so it required a high-voltage direct current to supply powerful radio tubes. The ignitron made it possible to efficiently convert alternating current into direct current. Valentin Vologdin was also the first in the world to develop induction furnaces to use high-frequency currents in industry.

1920 – discovery of the law of homological series:

In 1920, the Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov discovered the law of homological series in hereditary variability, and later created the doctrine of the world centers of origin of cultivated plants (1926). These works laid the scientific foundations for modern breeding, conservation of biological diversity, and development of agriculture.

1922 – the first semiconductor device:

In 1922, the Russian physicist and inventor Oleg Losev was the first in the world to create a semiconductor device that could generate and amplify electromagnetic vibrations (kristadin). This opened the way for regenerative and heterodyne radio receivers operating without vacuum tubes, which made the equipment more compact and economical.

1923 – discovery of electroluminescence of semiconductors:

In 1923, the Russian physicist and inventor Oleg Losev was the first in the world to discover that when a current is passed through a silicon carbide crystal, a cold glow appears. In the West, this effect has long been called the "Losev Light." The phenomenon discovered by Oleg Losev later formed the basis of the technology for light emitting diodes (LED) which have revolutionized lighting all over our planet.

1926 – the doctrine of the biosphere:

In 1926, the Russian naturalist Vladimir Vernadsky developed and published the doctrine of the biosphere. He laid the conceptual foundations of geochemistry (1927), and also created new disciplines: biogeochemistry (1932) and radiogeology (1935). Later, Vladimir Vernadsky developed his ideas about the biosphere into the concept of the noosphere, a sphere of the mind where human activity becomes the main factor in the evolution of the biosphere.

1927 – the theory of the hovercraft train:

In 1927, the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was the first in the world to publish the theory and scheme of a hovercraft train in his brochure "Air Resistance and Fast Train". He proposed to eliminate friction between the train and the railway track by the air cushion, while the body of the car had to be streamlined.

1927 – the first artificial caoutchouc (rubber):

In 1927, the Russian chemist Sergey Lebedev was the first in the world to obtain artificial caoutchouc (rubber). Before that, the world depended on natural caoutchouc which was extracted from the sap of the hevea tree. Its production was more expensive, and the quality was unstable. Sergey Lebedev's discovery made it possible to establish mass production of rubber, which was extremely important for developing industry, including the production of tires.

1927 – introduction of the concept of density matrix:

In 1927, the Soviet physicist Lev Landau was the first in the world to introduce the concept of a density matrix – a mathematical apparatus in quantum mechanics that allows describing quantum systems, including mixed states (for example, when a system is part of a larger system or there is no complete information about it). Before that, wave functions were used to describe quantum systems, and they were suitable only for "pure" states. Landau's density matrix has become a key tool of modern quantum theory, and the latter is moving forward the creation of quantum computers.

1928 – the first electronic television:

On November 9, 1925, the Soviet scientists Viktor Popov, Boris Grabovsky, and Nikolai Piskunov were the first in the world to file a patent application for the electric telescoping apparatus called Telefot. In the same year, the first cathode ray tube for the Telefot was manufactured at the Svetlana plant in Leningrad, USSR. On July 26, 1928, in Tashkent, USSR, with the active participation of the Soviet inventor Ivan Belyansky, the Telefot transmitted a moving image of people and objects over a distance. Thus, in the Soviet Union, for the first time in the world, a fully electronic television system providing the transmission of a moving image was created, and the first fully electronic television broadcast was produced. This achievement paved the way for the further development of electronic television.

1929 – the first scientific substantiation of stepped space rockets:

In 1929, the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, in his brochure "Space Rocket Trains", was the first in the world to scientifically prove that rockets consisting of several sequentially disconnected stages are needed to achieve cosmic speeds. Thus, Tsiolkovsky also laid the principle of reusable rockets. For the first time Konstantin Tsiolkovsky outlined these scientific ideas in his science fiction novel "Beyond the Earth" finally published in 1920. It describes a multi stage rocket, the stages of which are sequentially disconnected as fuel is used.

1929 – the first electrothermal rocket engine:

In 1929, the Russian engineer Valentin Glushko was the first in the world to design an electrothermal rocket engine. Such engines are now actively used to correct and maintain the orbit of spacecraft, to transit between orbits, to maneuver in near-Earth space or during interplanetary flights, or to deploy and accurately position satellite groups. Due to their high efficiency, electrothermal rocket engines make it possible to adjust the orbit longer without consuming a lot of fuel, which prolongs the life of satellites.

1931 – the first iconoscope:

In 1931, the Russian engineer Vladimir Zworykin developed the world's first practical electronic transmission tube. Later, he also developed a kinescope, a receiver tube for television sets. These inventions laid the foundation for mass electronic television.

1932 – the first aviation radar:

In 1932, the Russian engineer Pavel Oshchepkov proposed the idea of using radio waves to detect aircraft in an air defense system. In 1934, for the first time in the world, this project was implemented in the USSR and the first radars were successfully tested. Pavel Oshchepkov called them "air defense electrovisors".

1932 – fundamentals of isotope geochemistry:

In 1932, the Russian geochemist Alexander Vinogradov began research of heavy water, which led to the creation of a new direction in science – isotope geochemistry. The latter has become a powerful tool for recreating the conditions of ancient geological processes, determining the age of rocks, and understanding the circulation of substances in nature.

 

 

CONTINUED – PART 3

 

 

See also:

The True World Map

Goodness in the Legislation of Our Planet

The Foundation of Saratov